Rodney Sacks Sells 206,543 Shares of Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) Stock

Monster Beverage Corporation (NASDAQ:MNST) Director Rodney Sacks sold 206,543 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.58, for a total transaction of $15,197,433.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Monster Beverage Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of MNST stock opened at $74.33 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $72.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.23, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.48. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $71.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.81. Monster Beverage Corporation has a 12 month low of $45.70 and a 12 month high of $76.28.

Monster Beverage (NASDAQ:MNST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.56 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $2.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.11 billion. Monster Beverage had a return on equity of 27.76% and a net margin of 21.65%.Monster Beverage’s quarterly revenue was up 16.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.41 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Monster Beverage Corporation will post 1.62 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $87.00 price target (up from $82.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Monster Beverage from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $81.00 target price (up previously from $74.00) on shares of Monster Beverage in a report on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Monster Beverage from $72.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Access Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Monster Beverage during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Monster Beverage by 508.1% during the 3rd quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 315 shares during the last quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. acquired a new stake in Monster Beverage during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in shares of Monster Beverage in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Monster Beverage by 1,338.7% in the 2nd quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. 72.36% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Monster Beverage

Monster Beverage Corporation, through its subsidiaries, engages in development, marketing, sale, and distribution of energy drink beverages and concentrates in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Monster Energy Drinks, Strategic Brands, Alcohol Brands, and Other.